Speed-varying apparatus.



L. A. LOHR.

SPEED VARYING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 22. 1903.

PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906.

' vgwlllw NA AHA PATENTED 0M. 23, 1906.

L. A. LOHR. SPEED VARYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED A PR.22. 1903.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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To all uihom it may concern} described in the fol owing specification.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER A. j Loss, or NEWMARKET, VIRGINIA.

' SPEMEQ-VA'IRYING APPARATUS.

Sp cification of imam Patent. Application 111.1 April 22,1903. Borial Io. 168,884.

- Patented Oct. as, 1906.

Be it known that I, LUTHER A. Lona, a citizen of the United States, residin at Newmarket, in the county of Shenandoah'and State 'of Vir a, have invented a new and useful Spee -Varying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to speed-varyin apparatus, .and while. particularly applica le to motorvehiclesas, for instance, self-propelled bicyclesit will be ap arent to those skilled in the art that it may e em plrgled for various mechanical purposes.

e of the objects of the invention is to provide an 'expansiblepulley wherein there .will be no endthrust due to the belt pull against any stationary part, thus obviating the necessit of the usual stationary thrustbearing an .at the same time provide sim ple means forexpanding and contracting the prulley, the arrangement: being such that the iction of the' parts, due to their relative movements, isreduced to a minimum.

. Another object is to provide a structure of the above characterin which the elements are thoroughly housed from dust and and .dinal sectional view through the same 0112.81]

enla ed scale. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectiona view through the driven pulley on the line-'3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is adetail erspectiveview of one form of sleeveemp oyed in the driven pulley. Fig. 5 is a similar view of amodified form-of construction; 1F ig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the-driven pulley,

- certain partsbeing .brokeri away -to more clearly show the interior: .construction. and arrangement.- Fi Z is: .a detailse'ctional .'view taken on the ine 7 '7. of Fig. 1. Fig. Sis

a detail sectional viewthrough two of the collars, showing thespringiconnection for urging them toward .each :other.. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are diagrammatic views.

*Similarreference characters indicate corre- S. 3efore proceeding with the descri tion of the structure illustrated the princi e of the invention should firstbe unders In an expansible ulley having disks rovided with incline faces upon which the belt runs if not will of course separate'said disks. If, how- .ever, abutments are attached to the shaft or.

other support on which the disks are placed and sai abutments are located, across the aths of movement of the disks, it willbe evi- 1 ent that their movements upon the shaft will be prohibited and that the shaft will be frotated with the disks. '1 have discovered,

however, that the direction of such aths of Varies movement of the disks upon the sh .somewhat, according to the positionv of the belts with-respect to the peripheries of said disk,and that in order to hold the zagainst relative movement in, different positions with respect to each other curved *abutments are at least preferable. -.As,ex-

, iplanatory of the above in Figs. ;9,'-10, and 11 an expansible pulley ispillustrated havigg gheads A, provided with :opposing inclin .faces upon which the; belto crates." These .heads are locatedaupon a sh t or other rotatable part-B, and. it will beevident that if the heads are perfectly loose .upon the, shaft. they :will separate when thebeltis operated. T e

directions of the paths of movement of. said disks, if free, are indicatedby the lineC C,

and the abutments to- .revent. such move-' ment are indicated by t e lines DJ) at right angles thereto. When, however, the, belt-is on :the peripheral portions of-said disks, if 5 saiddisks were. free thedirections e'of the paths of movement .are indicated 1by.-the ;lines 0 C of Fig. .10 and the. abutmentsat might angles thereto b the lines'D D. In 'F 11' curved .hubs E are shownion. the di grs A Aand are provided with curved stops F, forming corresponding shoulders that abut a ainst projectionsG G, secured to the shaft.

ward each other they will .when left any position remain stationary ,with :2. t to the shaft, as the stops will bearag a. the

portions of. he walls that are in proper spending parts in all the of the draw- 5 5 and it is ,beheved that it can be best explained by dia- .60 grammatic Figs. 9, 10, and 11.

prohibits the free. rela-. tive movement. of t e disks the belt tension us when the heads are moved apart or. to-

lar relation. However, should end pressure of abnormal degree he a plied in either directhe release of such pressure the heads remain in their newly-adjusted relations upon the shaft. These movements are taken advantage of in the adjustment of the pulleys.

Having thus explained the theory of. the invention the practical embodiment thereof, illustrated in the acc mpanying drawings, will'now be described.

A suitable motor is employed, of which 10 designate,- the casing, and 11 the drivingshaft projecting from said casing and having a tapered portion 12, upon which a drivingpulley(des1gnated as a whole by the referencenumeral 13) is attached. A driven pulley 14 is arranged in line with the driving-pulley and is connected therewith by a belt 15. The construction of the drivingulley will be first described. A sleeve 16 1s keyed upon the tapered portion of the shaft 11, eing as- .tened in place 'by a suitable nut 17. This sleeve is provided in o posite sides with convergently disposed s ots 18, arr ed obliquely to the axis of rotation of the s aft and curved longitudinally thereof, the walls of said slots constituting shoulders, as hereinafter set forth. Upon the sleeve 16 are fitted collars 19, that can revolve upon said sleeve and are also movable l ngitudinally toward and from each other thereon. These collars carry inwardly-grojecting studs 20, upon the inner ends of w ch are j ournaled stop-rollers 21, that engage inthe slots 18 and bear against certain of the said shoulders walls thereof. One of these collars is 1'0- vided with slots 22, and fingers 23, carried by a the other collar, slidably engage in the slots and serve to prevent independent rotation of said collars. Pulley-heads in the form of disks 24 are mounted upon the collars 19, be ing preferably formed with cufis 25, that are screwed upon said collars, the inner cuff and disk being adjustable upon its collar and normally held against such adjustment by a setscrew 26. he collars are provided with means for ur them toward each other, said means be ng illustrated in Figs. 3 and 8. It will be seen that connections in the form of rods 27 are employed, which ass through the collars and have their en s located in seats '28 formed therein. The ends of the rods are provided with suitable heads 29, and coiled springs 30 are interposed between the heads and inner end walls of the seats.

Bearing in mind the preliminary explanation of the manner of sto ping the movement of the pulley-heads, it is elieved that the operation of this pulley will be clearly a parent. The slots 18 are curved lo tudina y of the shaft or sleeve, and the we s thereof constiformed by the tute shoulders, different portions of which are thus located at different angles of obli uity to the axis of rotation of the pulley. T curvatureor, in other words, these angles are so arran ed with respect to the rollers 21 that the wails of the slot will always be at right angles to the lines of end thrust of the pulley-heads as transmitted to the rollers, and therefore said rollers act as stops, thus holding the pulley-heads and shaft against independent movement. The result is that the power is transmitted from the drivingshaft through'the .pulley to the belt.

In the present instance the structure is shown appliedto a bicycle, and the edalshaft 31 constitutes the support for the iven pulley. This shaft is provided at its ends with pedal-cranks 32 and is journaled in ballbearing boxes 33, hung in suitable brackets 34, secured to the bio ole-frame, the adjustment of the boxes eing rovided for by screws 35. Mounted upon t e shaft and rotatable independently thereof is a hub 36,

arranged upon suitable ball-bearings'37, carrymg at one end a sprocket-wheel 38, by means of which power may be transmitted from the pulley to the driven wheel of the bicycle. hehub 36 is made in two parts, as shown in Fig. 2, and the outward end is rovided with a cone clutching-face 39. lidably mounted on the other end of the hub is a clutchifi-plug 40, which is also coneshaped a is urged toward the clutchingfaee 39 by means of a coiled spr' 41. A grooved wheel 42 is attached to the plug and esigned to receive one end of an operatinglever which will permit the adjustment of said plug. The hub also carries a suitable brake-wheel 43. Arranged u on the hub is a sleeve 16, having slots simi ar to those described in the sleeve 16 of the driving-pulley. The ends of these sleeves are beveled to coact with the clutching-faces of the hub and plug. The remainder of the pulleynamely, the portions mounted on the sleeve 16are simiar in all respects to those described in the driving-pulley and are designated by the same reference-numerals. It is believed to be needless to redescribe these parts, as

their construction and action are exactly the same. One additional feature, however, is to be noted, namely, that the cufl 25 of one of the pulley-heads is rovided with a groove 25 to receive one en of an actuating-lever 25". (Shown in 1.)

With the clutch mechanism above described the driven pulley may be unclutched from the hub which carries the sprocketwheel 38, and consequently the motor will not effect the movement of the driven wheel. The pedals therefore or motor may be used independently. The operation of the device is as follows: As already described, under normal conditions the various heads are located against movement with relation to themselves and their supports. This is due -to the fact thatthe outward pressure upon said heads caused by thebelt s sto ped by the rollers bearing against the wal s of the slots.' .No matter, therefore, in what position the heads are laced "they will remain until moved, and t 's movement is accomplished by means of the actuatin -lever Assuming that the arts are in t e relation shown in Figs. 1. an 2 and it beihg desira "1e to move-the heads of the drivenpulley ogether and at the same time, those of the that of the tension-springs urging the heads toward each other, willloverbalance the outward pressure u on the'heads caused by the belt. As a resu t the heads will move simul-'.

taneously toward eachother because of the interlocking fingers, and they will also rotate upon the suipporting-sleev e. This extra pressure cause ythe belt running up on the inclined-faces WIll impart an abnormal pressurethe driven shaft, .the actuating-lever is moved outwardly, .andthereby the: parts again becoming unbalancedthe heads will' separate and cause the belt to "loosen. The pulling action therefore becoming weakened on: the drivin -belt,-the tension-'sprin will overbalance t e same and cause-the ea ds thereof to move toward each other;

Where sleeves, as shown in Fig. 4, are em ployed, the pulleys can move in one direction only, for 'should an attempt be made toreverse, their direction ofmovement the heads would immediately spread. In Fig. 5, how-- ever, thereis illustrated .7 an arrangement which may be-used in azreversible pulley.

sto s will simply move to the opposite Walls an will immediately be arranged in coacting relation again It will be observed that .this structure has reduced friction because of thrust-bearings, for the parts all .rotate together'and' a great amount I of power is thus saved. The elementary parts necessary to secure the cooperation are few and simple, and, furthermore, the structure as a whole is exceedingly compact. The parts are housed from dust and dirt, the roller-stops being completely inclosed 'and the balancin -springs 30 being also housed. Moreover, t e construction is such that the parts can be adjusted to take up wear and looseness in the belt, and, if desirable, by means of the adjustable heads the spaces between the heads can becontracted to obtain a greater ip upon the belt. 7 i

. From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the'herein-described invention will be a parent to those skilled in the. art without stood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor detailsof construction maybe resorted to without de arting from thespirit or sacrificing any 0 the advantages of the invention. For instance, while the structureis herein shown and described in connection with one form of pulley only it will be understood by those skilled in. the art that the invention can be employed in connection with expansible pulleys of other typfs. 1 aving thus described my'invention, what I claim as new, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent, is*' 1. The combination with a rotatablesupporting member, of an .expansible pulley aving a member rotatably mounted on the sup orting member and movable longitudi na y thereof, a shoulder carried by one member-and disposed obliquely to the axis of rotation'of the member, and a stop carried by the other member'and bearing against the shoulder. s I

2. The combination'with a rotatable supporting member, of an expansible pulley aving a member rotatably mounted on the rther description, and it will be undersuplporting member and movable longitudina y thereof, a shoulder carried by one member and disposed-obliquely to the axis of. ro-

tation of the members, and a roller-stop jour-' naled upon :the other member and bearing against the shoulder.

3. The combination with a rotatable sup-- porting member, of an expansible pulley aving spaced members rotatably-mounted on them porting member and movable longitudinal y thereon toward and from each other, convergently-disposed shoulders car-. ried b the supporting member, and stops carrie by the pulley members and bearing against the converging shoulders.

4. The combination witha rotatable supporting member, of an expansible pulleyaving spaced members rotatably mounted on the supporting member and movable longitudinal y thereon toward and from each other, convergently-disposed shoulders carried by the supporting member, and rollerstops journaled upon the pulley members rro ' member, said pulley member havingi and bearing against. the. ders..

5. The combination witha-rotatable supporting member, of an expansible pulley hav mg a'i-member rotatably mounted onithe su porting member andfmovable longitudina ythereon, a. shoulder carried by one'member' 6.. The combination with arotatable sup-- portinglnember, of an expansible pulley hav mg amember rotatably mounted .on the su porting member and-movable longitudinal y thereomazshouldbr carried by one member and'disposed obliquely to the axis of rotationof the members, said shoulders being curved longitudinally of the member'whereby the various portions thereof are disposedeat'dif ferent angles of obliquity, and a stop carried by the other member and bearingfagainstftheshoulders.

7-. The combination with-a rotatable-Sn porting member .having an obliquely-disosedrcurvedshoulder, of an-expansible pul fey, including a-member rotatably andlongitudinally movable on the supporting member,.said pulley member having a movable stop that bears-against the shoulder-.1

8. The combination'with a rotatable su porting member having an oblique'l d1sposed shoulder that is-curved longitudinally of said sup orting member, of an expansible ulley, inc uding a member rotatably andongitudinally movable on the supporting a movable roller-stop j ournaled thereon an bearing against the oblique shoulder.

9. The combination with a:rotatable supporting member having obliquelydisposed:.

converging shoulders that are curved-lengi tudinal y of the member, of an expansible pulley, including members that are rotatable and movable longitudinally upon the supporting member, and stops carried by the pulley members and bearing' respectively against the shoulders.

10. The combination with a rotatable su porting member" having anobliquely-disposed shoulder that is curved longitudinally of the member, of an expansible pulley, invcluding a disk having an inclined'face, said disk being revoluble and longitudinally movable upon the supporting member, and astop carried by the disk and engaging the shoulder.

11. The combination with a rotatable supporting-sleeve having'a slot rovided'with a wall that is located diagonal y ofthe axis-of rotation of the sleeve, of an expansible pul ley, including a diskrotatably mounted on converging shoalsrotation of the sleeve, of an e the sleeve and=movablelongitudinallv theme of; andasto carriedlby the disk and against the 'a onal-wall of the-slot.

12. Thecom ination withia'mtatablesup polting-sleeve -hav'mg:a*-slot-. provided: with a wall that is located diagonal y of the axis-of" ansible pulle includinga disk a oollarcarned by the-dis said: collar being mtatabl'y mounted! on' the sleeveand movable longitudinally thereof;

and! a stop-roller j ournaled'. upon: thecollar alndibearing against the diagonal wall of thes ot.

13. Thecombinationwithra lrotatablesu portingssleeve havingshouldera that are agonally andioon'vergently disposed, of disks= revolubly mounted: on the-sleeve and movable toward andi from each other; said disks having; inclined: o posing: faces; and projections connected with the disks and engaging i theshoulders;

14. The combination with a-rotatable sup-- porting-sleeve having slots formingshoulders, said shouldersbeingcdiagonall and converg.-' entl disposed; of'collarsrevohibly mounted on -t e sleeve and movable" towardrand'fmm each other, said collars-- carrying disks that have inclined opposingfsces, and inwardly extending: projections carried! by the collars and'engaging-the shoulders.-.

I 15. The'combination with=arotatablesu porting-member, of pulley disks rotatab and'longitudinally movable tow-ardand from each other u on the sup orting member, means for ho the dis aga nst move ment on the supportin member,- andslid+ ably-associated mterloc 'ngtoonnections between the inner portions-of thedisks.

16. The combmation with a'rotatable supporting member, of collars-rotatab'l 'andllon gitudinally movable towel-d1 and rem-each other uponthessu portingmember, meansfor holding the col are against movement on' the supporting member, and disks carriedibythe collars and having! inclined. opposin faces, said collars--'having;slidably-associate e interlocking connections:

17. The 'combinationwith a rotatable sup-' porting. member, of collars rotatabl '8IId.'l0Il-- gitudinallymovable toward! and i r o other upon the-supportingtmemberg means for holding-the collars against movement on the supportingfmemberg one of the collars.-

having sockets, there beingfingers carriedlbythe other collar-and slidably engaging inithe. sockets.-

18. The combination with a-rotatable supporting-sleeve having convergently-disposed' slots, of collars rotatably mounted on the supporting-sleeve and movable toward andfrom each other,.rollers-journaled uponthe collars and engagingiin the slots of the supporting-sleeve, .fingers carried by one collar.

m" each:

earingb 5 ITO and slidably engaging the other, and outstanding disks secured to the collars and having inclined opposed inner faces.

19. The combination with a support, of pulley-sections movable toward and from' each other upon the support, stops for normally preventing the relative movement of the sections away from each other, and a pulley-sections movable toward and spring for urging them toward each other.

20. The combination with a rotatable support, of pulley-sections rotatable and movable toward and from each other upon the support, stops for normally reventing the rotation of the sections upon t e support, and a spring for urging the sections toward each other.

21. The combination with a support, of pulley-sections movable toward and from each other upon the support, and a springpressed connection between the sections and mdependent of the support for urging them toward each other.

22. The combination with a support, of from each other upon the support, a rod connectin the sections, and a spring mounted on the rm i and bearing against one of the sections to urge said sections together.

23. The combination with a support, of pulley sections mounted u on the support and movable toward and cm each other, a rod slidably connecting the sections, and springs on the ends ofthe rod for urging the sections toward each other.

24. The combination with a rotatable support, of pulley-sections rotatable and movable I toward and from each other upon the support,

stops for normally preventlng the relative movement of the sections away from each other, spaced rods connecting the sections, and springs mounted on the rods for urging the sections toward each other.

25. The combinaton with a rotatable support, of pulley-sections rotatably mounted on the support and movable toward and from each other, spaced fingers connecting the sections to prevent their independent rotation, and spring connections between the sections, said connections being located between the fingers.

26. The combination with a revoluble pulley member having an expansible belt-carrying portion, and a relatively movable revoluble supporting member for the pulley member, of a curved shoulder revolub e with the pulley and disposed substantially concentric to the axis of rotation thereof, said shoulder being arranged transversely to the line of end thrust of the expansible portion of the pulley, and a stop bearing against the shoulder, the. stop bemg carried by one member and the shoulder by the other member.

27. The combination with a rotatable support, of collars mounted upo'n'th'e support and movable toward and from each other, said collars having transverse seats, a rod connecting the collars and having its ends arranged in the seats, springs housed within the seats and bearing against the rods, and pulleyheads carried b the collars. 28. The com ination with a rotatable support, of collars mounted upon the support and a movable toward and from each other, and pulley-head disks, one of which is adjustably a spiral path of movement upon the support-.

ing member, means for limiting said head to such ath of movement, and means for moving t e head, said su porting member and head being rotatable with respect to the movmg means.

31. The combination with a su porting member, of a pulley including ahead having a spiral path of movement upon the su porting member, means for limiting said head to such path of movement, and means for exerting a pressure 'upon the head longitudinall of the supporting member to cause said ead to move in its spiral ath, said supporting member being rotatab c with respect to the moving means.

32., The combination with a supporting member, of a pulley includi heads that are movable toward and from eac other in spiral paths about the supporting member, and means connecting the heads to the supporting member to normally hold said heads in fixed relative positions with respect to each other and to the sup orting member, said means permitting the l ieads to travel toward and away from each other in said spiral paths of movement, when abnormal thrust 1s applied to the heads.

33. The combination with a rotatable su porting member, of a pulley including hea s that are movable toward and from each: other in spiral paths u on the sup orting member, said heads ha inclined aces, a belt operating upon said aces, means connecting the heads to the supporting member to normally hold said heads in different fixed relative positions to each other and to the supporting member when under the belt tension, said means permitting the said heads to travel toward or away from each other in said spiral paths of movement when abnormal end 

